Faith Confession of God's Word

"No longer shall your name be called Abram but your name shall be called Abraham for I have made you a father of many nations" (Gen 17:5)

Let me share with you what i have studied about this verse.

If you look at this verse here God calls Abram -Abraham for God said that He has made him a father of many nations. Even tho Abraham at this stage was still childless God spoke of how his future is and we know that when God says it that settles it. God named Him Abraham because every time Abraham hears his new name he will be reminded of Gods promise that he will be the father of many nations. This is to show Abraham that he should only say and think what God has said about him being the father of many nations. This scripture shows the believer to only speak and think of what God has said bout us in His Word. We are just like Abraham the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior all Gods promises in Gods Word is ours. And we as believers should speak only what God has said bout us about our life's and our circumstances. He has set us free with the blood of Jesus and we are His children.

"Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"(Romans3:24)

"There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit"(Romans8:1)

"Yet in all things we are more then conquerers through Him who loved us"(Romans8:37)

I would also like to add that i will be starting a full study on the book of romans please guys feel free to post any self studies from Romans we would love to hear them.

The transformation of Abram to Abraham is a reminder of God's promise and its fulfillment. It is also very unique in its nature. The journey of this transformation makes us learn a very important lesson.

Although in chapter 15 Abram became impatient when there was no sign of a promised son. God confirmed his covenant with Abram to give him a son from his own body with a special ceremony. Look at 15:4b-6, “This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir. He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the heavens and count the stars-if indeed you can count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

But in chapter16, it was Sarai’s turn and she became impatient. Look at verses 1 and 2. “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar, so she said to Abram, ‘The Lord has kept me from having children, Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.’” Though ten years had passed, there was no sign of a son. Sarah felt sorry for Abram because she could not produce a son for him. She felt a strong sense of obligation to produce a son by any means. She became fatalistic about herself, and said, “The Lord has kept me from having children.” She could not wait for God’s appointed time. She concluded that God kept her from having children.” In a sense she blamed God for her childless problem. She lost her faith in God’s promise and fell into her human thinking. Her impatience turned into unbelief. Instead of waiting for God’s time, She began to find a way to give a son to Abram. Then a brilliant human idea came to Sarah, “Well, as long as a son comes from the body of Abram, it is okay. Hagar seems to be strong and attractive. Why did I not think about this alternative solution before? Let me have a son for Abram through Hagar.” In addition, it was the custom of that time to solve a no son problem through a concubine. But her idea was against God’s plan of a family-one wife and one husband. One day she told Abram, “Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” It was a hard decision for Sarah to give Abram to Hagar. But she thought that that was her best option to build a family through Hagar. What’s wrong with her decision? Sarah did not inquire of the Lord before she made this decision. She tried to have a covenant son through her human effort. God said, “I will make you a great nation.” (12:2) But Sarah said, “Perhaps I will build family through her.”(2b) “Perhaps” is a word of unbelief. God’s covenant will be fulfilled by God but not by our human means. She ignored God’s plan and allowed Abram to sleep with Hagar. She tried to achieve her human goal by using Hagar’s body. The source of unbelief came from her human calculation and impatience.

Abram agreed to what Sarai said; he slept with Hagar, and she conceived. How could Abram agree with such a decision? Abram listened to Sarah’s suggestion because it was a hard offer to refuse. Sarah’s approval and his heart desire to have a son emboldened Abram to sleep with Hagar. But Abram was a man of faith and Abram should have prayed about this; he should have listened to God’s voice instead of the voice of his wife. Actually, he was listening to the voice of his deep desire. So he did not wait on God, but used human means to solve his problem. We are responsible for our actions, even if someone else gives unwise counsel. It was an easy solution but created a deeper problem.

What was the consequence of their human calculation? Their decision brought chaos to their household. Human mistake brought family strife and jealousy and hatred. After Hagar became pregnant, she became proud and began to despise her mistress, Sarai. She said, “Hey! Sarah! Look at my stomach. You are a barren woman and I am pregnant. Do not tell me what to do. I should be the top wife in this household.” Abram said, “Good morning, Hagar! How’s the baby?” When Sarai complained to Abram, he said, “She’s your servant; do whatever you think best.” Abram became a sandwich man between two powerful women. He became helpless. One day he tried to please Hagar and next day he tried to please Sarah. There was no rest in him. He had many splitting headaches to please both of them at the same time. His longtime sweet love relationship with Sarah was broken. Abram did not try to mediate between two women. He restored spiritual order in his home, and made it clear that his wife Sarai was the mistress of the home. So Sarai seized this opportunity to revenge and treated Hagar harshly, and she said, “You dared to challenge my authority and forgot who you were. Remember that you are nothing but my maidservant though you are pregnant.” Two women’s jealousy flared and Hagar could not bear Sarah’s mistreatment and fled into the desert.

Everytime when we forget about God's promises He made to each one of us through Bible, we start chaos in our lives. This chaos is due to our inability to understand God and His love. There is nothing impossible with God so all His promises come true, even if there is no hope.